Friday, June 10, 2011
Madlock Resisting State Pressure to Go-It-Alone on Family Planning Services
Posted by Jackson Baker on Fri, Jun 10, 2011 at 2:45 PM
And Madlock makes it clear that her department is still hoping to avail itself of local family planning partners so as to “make sure that those resources that have been dedicated to Shelby County come to Shelby County.” As she has before, Madlock maintains that the county Health Department, by itself, “does not have the current capacity” to serve the sizable target population of lower-income women and families in need of family planning services.
“We are going to avail ourselves of being 'creative' partners in making sure these resources are available,” Madlock said, citing what appears to have been a suggested option in the original letter from state Health Commissioner Susan Cooper which sought to commit the local Health Department to assume the full family planning burden of Shelby County.
Madlock said that her Department in its search for such partners “would not include or exclude” Planned Parenthood, the non-profit organization which has traditionally participated with the local Health Department in providing Title X family planning services.
Planned Parenthood was explicitly targeted for exclusion from the Title X program in legislation passed on May 21, the last day of the 2011 session of the Tennessee General Assembly.
A technical sentence in the bill was later adjudged, however, to have nullified the intent of the bill's sponsor, state Senator Stacey Campfield (R-Knoxville), and other ultra-conservative foes of Planned Parenthood who sought to defund the organization.
Hence an intense campaign by opponents of abortion over the last two weeks to achieve the exclusion of Planned Parenthood by executive means.
In that original letter from Commissioner Cooper to Madlock, dated March 24, at a time when Campfield's legislation was first being considered, a key paragraph read as follows: “If the Memphis and Shelby County Health Department is hesitant to accept the full funding because it does not have the capacity to serve this number of unduplicated patients, I would encourage you to think creatively and consider working with community partners who could assist the health department in providing family planning services to the residents of your county.”
However, a second, firmer letter was sent by Cooper this past week with at least the acquiescence of Governor Bill Haslam and under strong urging from Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, the state Senate Speaker and a leading foe of Planned Parenthood. Ramsey, like other adversaries of the organization, considers it a prime enabler of legal abortion, though Planned Parenthood officials contend that it offers a full array of consultative services relating to family health matters.
Cooper's new letter dropped the reference to “unduplicated patients,” substituting the word “citizens”. The letter further asked Madlock that her department take “every step possible” to assume the entire Title X burden.
While Madlock was still considering a preliminary response, the Health Department of Nashville and Davidson County, which had received a version of the same letter, gave what appeared to be an affirmative response to Cooper, simultaneously indicating that compliance would mean a reduction in the number of women served.
The Davidson County action prompted a news release from Ramsey on Friday that included the following statement:
“We are at long last moving towards the final stages of the Planned Parenthood shell game....It has always been the ambition of Republicans in the legislature to defund this organization. I was proud to lead the charge to turn over family planning services to the county health departments effectively defunding the organization in 93 out of 95 counties. I’d like to praise the Governor for working to completely turn off the spigot of taxpayer funds to Planned Parenthood."
The Lieutenant Governor seemed clearly to be celebrating the end of a contest — one more case, like his successful insistence on legislation prohibiting collective bargaining by public school teachers, in which he succeeded in achieving a stronger outcome than one advanced by Haslam. Though both the governor and Ramsey deny it, more than a few observers see the two ranking Republican office-holders to be in an undeclared rivalry for influence.
But Madlock is so far sticking to her insistence that family planning services cannot be adequately provided in Shelby County without partners who can assist in administering the Title X program with demonstrated expertise and with an independent ability to raise supplementary funds.
And, while she would not limit a definition of such potential partners to Planned Parenthood, Madlock definitely acknowledged that the organization answered the criteria. She said her effort at formulating a “creative” idea for partnership would be communicated to Cooper by the middle of next week.
Comments (13)
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Director Madlock does NOT have to "go it alone". Has she even approached any other agency for "help"? The Church Health Center comes to mind or the MED, Methodist Healthcare, or any number of TRUE health care providers in our area. Face it at Planned Parenthood more patients go in than come out.
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Ho-hum; another religious zealot wanting to impose his beliefs on pregnant women.
He may believe that fetuses are endangered by Planned Parenthood, but let me assure him, not nearly as much as gray matter is endangered by the Tennessee General Assembly.
@Marty: Clever as always, but surely you can understand the position of those opposed to PP funding. If you believe, as I do, that a fetus is a person, then any public money to PP would free up other money for murder. Interestingly enough, your argument resembles that of the Southern slave owner prior to the Civil War: "Ho-hum. Another zealous abolitionist wanting to impose his beliefs about personhood on property owners." I'm not intending to be hyperbolic because it all depends on how you define human personhood! Always enjoy your commentary and looking forward to reading your thoughts! Have a good one, Sir. CJT.
Hey, Chris, not to engage in hyperbole, but any tax money which goes to law enforcement frees up other money for the death penalty, which is murder, too.
@Packrat: Did I detect a hint of sarcasm? Haha. But your broader point is correct if you believe the death penalty to be murder. I'm still working out my thoughts on the death penalty and warfare at large. If the execution of the "guilty" is murder, what is killing on the field of battle? Also, you didn't address my argument about human personhood and I'm interested to hear your thoughts on that, in particular.
My feelings on abortion are thus: if you don't like abortion, then don't have one and if a zygote is "life" then so is a sperm and an egg. As to when a zygote becomes "human," well, I haven't figured that out yet, but in my opinion the pregnant woman should be allowed to make that decision. The Founding fathers during colonial times believed abortion was ok up until the time of "quickening." Women have been aborting pregnancies for thousands of years and it should remain legal because they won't stop doing it because you think it's wrong or happen to have enough votes to ban it. I alwasy personalize this; I have 2 daughters, and let's say one is raped and impregnated. If she decides to end the pregnancy, I will support her, and anyone who gets in our way, legal or not, will most assuredly be wearing their ass for a hat.
@Packrat: Thanks for the response. Your opinion is obviously well-reasoned. Here's where I'm coming from: I understand that, at fertilization, the zygote possesses a new and unique genetic code which immediately qualifies it as a member of our species. Furthermore, the zygote is a living organism as it meets the necessary scientific requirements for the life. I reject the notions that physical independence, consciousness, and other (e.g. neural activity, blood circulation) constitute human personhood. Each, in my opinion, encounter serious logical obstacle upon inspection. I am left with the moment of conception as the most reasonable beginning of human personhood. Just because abortion is legal, common, and ancient doesn't convince me that it's morally right. Slavery, polygamy, and child labor were once as such. And the Christian community was almost completely united (until the 20th century) in opposition to abortion from the 1st century onward. That's just my perspective. Thanks for a great conversation, man!
Chris, maybe it's one of those moral decisions that people of good will can disagree about, that's why in my view no one hould make the moral decision for another who comes to a different moral conclusion. Maybe the government should stay out of this one.
I do take issue with your assertion about unanimity within the Christian community about abortion historically. Actually, there has been little agreement or even very much importance placed upon the issue for most of the history of Christianity.
I absolutely agree with you about a disagreement among good-willed people. This conversation alone belies the argument that abortion cannot be discussed reasonably. However, I disagree with your assertion about morality and legality. There are plenty of issues where there are basic moral disagreements, but the law weighs in on a particular side (e.g. civil rights, TANF). Also, the Christian community thought very seriously about abortion and condemned it early and often. Although there seem to be vague references to the practice in the NT, the Didache, the Epistle of Barnabas and the Apocalypse of Peter (all first century non-canonical Christian works) condemn it. Tertullian, Jerome, and Chrysostom jump in later as well. Anyway, I have thoroughly enjoyed this conversation, as I do all of them, and appreciate your thoughts. We probably agree on more than is apparent from The Flyer comment section. Haha. Have a good one, Sir. CJT.
P.S. Just found this on Amazon. I might check it out because it looks decent. http://www.amazon.com/Abortion-Early-Churc…
This is the most ignorant legislative body Tennessee has ever voted into office. Planned Parenthood has been invaluable in providing pap smears, family planning, and basic health care for women right here in Memphis. These nuts always purport to care for the unborn, but de-fund every program meant to ensure early childhood development. WIC, free lunch programs, head start, and the list goes on....! They also are the biggest WARMONGERS!!
They're also usually for the death penalty isis, which renders their position not Pro-Life, but instead, Pro-Birth.
I have a fundamental question? Is this the same Madlock that has been in charge for 18 years although the City of Memphis has had the worst numbers of infant death and STD? The one that does not have a degree in Public Health. The one that told the the CA "She had no idea things were this bad" and has not done one thing to address it since. The one that was not content to be a school teacher and had to "pretend" to be a health director so she could feel important like Herman Morris's wife the M.D. This person has no business being in a leadership position in public health She lacks vision, education, and innovation. It is time for new blood to prevent the downward spiral in health in this community.
I have a fundamental question? Is this the same Madlock that has been in charge for 18 years although the City of Memphis has had the worst numbers of infant death and STD? The one that does not have a degree in Public Health. The one that told the the CA "She had no idea things were this bad" and has not done one thing to address it since. The one that was not content to be a school teacher and had to "pretend" to be a health director so she could feel important like Herman Morris's wife the M.D. This person has no business being in a leadership position in public health She lacks vision, education, and innovation. It is time for new blood to prevent the downward spiral in health in this community.
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